TTT: New-to-Me Authors I Met in 2023

Top Ten Tuesday: 

New-to-me authors I discovered in 2023

Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Encyclopedia for an Ordinary Life, Textbook, and eleven children's books

R.F. Kuang: Babel and Yellowface

Kate Baer: I Hope This Finds You Well: Poems

Adam Johnson: The Orphan Master's Son

George Eliot: Middlemarch

Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Cristo

Salman Rushdie: Victory City

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Ann Napolitano: Hello Beautiful

-Anne

Sunday Salon -- Winter Doldrums?

Gray days can still be fun. My grandsons splashing in puddles. Photo credit: R. Adams.

Puddles are fun. They are the best!

Weather: "It was a dark and stormy night." Rain. lots of rain. But don't we need it?

Cybils readings: So far I've finished 14 out of 17 finalists in three nonfiction categories. Of the remainders, I'm half way through one, 3/4th of the way through a second, and haven't started the third. Not bad. No problem finishing up before mid-February.

Reading and blogging:

Felines: Great Poets on Notorious Cats. Linocuts by Martha Paulos

• Completed this past week:
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. A book club selection. I finished it just hours before the meeting. LOVED IT. Fiction. Audio.
• Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano By Himself. This freed slaves own words made into found poems by Monica Edinger. A nonfiction biography-in-verse. Cybils finalist High School Level.
• Felines: Great Poets on Notorious Cats. c. 1992. y favorite part was the linocuts by Martha Paulos. See collage above.
• Currently reading:
• Spare Parts: The True Story of the Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and an Impossible Dream by Joshua Davis and Reyn Grande. This is the young readers version of the book by the same name. Print. Cybils finalist. 74%.
• Braiding Sweetgrass (Young Reader's Edition) by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Another Cybils finalist. Print and audio. 35%
• The Huntress by Kate Quinn. A book club selection. Print and audio.
• Blog posts:
• A Man Called Ove by Backman. A super past due review.
• Books I Meant to Read in 2023.
• ALA Youth Media Awards announcement
• Classics Club Spin number: 20. I will be (re)reading: The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway.

Jamie waiting his turn. Photo credit: D. Adams

Learning to swim: My son-in-law stood in line for several hours to get coveted spots for his sons in swim classes this winter. Are they glad? The face says it all, don't you think?

House hunting fun: Saturday (today) I went out house hunting with my youngest daughter. She is frustrated by her renting situation and has decided to make an attempt at buying something. We looked at four houses and one town house. They are all a blur in my brain right now.

Politics got you down? Here is is some good economic news of the week: (I hope you can read it. If not, click on the image and it should be made bigger on your computer.)

And just for laughs:

Winter doldrums? What winter doldrums?

If you are still feeling a little down, you might need this: "I'm Just Ken."  Enjoy!

-Anne

Review: A MAN CALLED OVE

Title: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Beginning quote:

Ove is fifty-nine. He drives a Saab.

Friday56 quote:

She just smiled, said that she loved books more than anything, and started telling him excitedly what each of the ones in her lap was about. And Ove realised that he wanted to hear her talking about the things she loved for the rest of his life.

Summary: 

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations. (Publisher)

Review: Back in April of 2017 one of my book clubs chose A Man Called Ove as the book of the month. Everyone in the club loved it, though some members like myself, said it took a few chapters to warm up to a book about an old cranky curmudgeon. But by the mid-point of the book all of us were in love with it, the characters, and pulling for Ove to share his feelings. Why is he so unhappy? We finally learned the back story and it just about broke our hearts. It just wasn't what any of us expected. It was much, much more poignant and touching than the opening and the cover suggested. It was also an introduction for most of us to the author Fredrik Backman. In 2020 my second book club read A Man Called Ove, too, and loved it just as much as my first group and had a very similar initial reaction to it. I've seen the international (Swedish?) movie of the book but I have not seen the Americanized version starring Tom Hanks in the film renamed as "A Man Called Otto."

At some point in 2022 I decided to hyperlink all past book club selections to my Goodreads reviews/posts and was shocked to learn that I had never reviewed this little gem. At the time of the first reading I was still working as a teen librarian and thought of my blog as more of YA book blog so I often wouldn't write up reviews for adult books I was reading. I confess A Man Called Ove would certainly have cross-over appeal to older teen readers, so I should have reviewed it then. I determined in 2022 to not only write up a review for this one but for nine other books that deserved a review I'd never written. I called the project "Super Past Due Reviews". Now I'm even overdue on the past due reviews! (8 done, two to go!)

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

As many of you know Freda over at Freda's Voice hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host The Friday56 until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. Thanks.

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader

(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

TTT: Books I Meant to Read in 2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I meant to read in 2023.

1. Known World by Edward P. Jones -- It is the last winner of the Pulitzer Prize published in the 21st century which I haven't read. I really, really wanted to finish this personal challenge and didn't get it done.

2. The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu -- I asked for this book for Christmas in 2022 and then didn't even attempt to read it in 2023.

3. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton -- Early in 2023 I heard this book was so good. I suggested it for a book club option but no one else wanted to select it. I still want to read it.

4. The Fraud by Zadie Smith -- This book was on the top ten list of best books of the year. I had my eye on it for months, even getting a copy from the library which I had to return unread at its due date.

5. The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough --- This book is about the construction of the Panama Canal which relates to me as my grandfather help build the canal! I learned about this book on our trip to walk in the steps of Granddad in Panama and Ecuador this past year. Even though it is a long one, 650+ pages, I'm determined to read it.

6. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea -- My sister gave me this book several years ago and I just can't make myself start it. 2024 for the win!

7. Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas Tallamy -- I added this to my TBR in 2021. I have a nice big yard. I'd sure like to make it as friendly to nature as possible.

8. What Kind of Woman: Poems by Kate Baer -- I fell in love with this poet last year and decided to read everything she has written.

9. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy -- My daughter recommended this memoir to me and I do want to read it, but when?

10. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese -- I shouldn't really add this book to the list because I am almost 90% done reading it. But I had three to four months notice to get it read by book club the end of January. Tomorrow is that meeting and I'm still not finished. I wouldn't be so panicked if I had bothered to start it in 2023!

-Anne

ALA Youth Media Awards Announced Today

The ALA Youth Media Awards were announced this morning and the winners are: 

(My list is selective. For the full list click here)

1. Michael L. Printz Award (Best YA literature of the year) 

• Award Winner: The Collectors: Stories, edited by A.S. King
• Honor books: Fire From the Sky by Moa Backe Astot
• The Girl I Am, I Was, and Will Never Be: a Speculatie Memoir of Transracial Adoption by Shannon Gibney
• Salt the Water by Candice Iloh
• Gather by Kenneth Cadow

2. Schneider Family Book Award (Teen (14-18) living with a disability)

• Winner: Forever is Now by Mariama Lockington

3. Alex Awards - 10 Best adult books that appeal to teen audiences 

• “Bad Cree,” by Jessica Johns
• “Chain-Gang All-Stars,” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• “Chlorine,” by Jade Song, published by William Morrow
• “Fourth Wing,” by Rebecca Yarros
• “The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph,” by Oksana Masters
• “I Will Greet the Sun Again,” by Khashayar J. Khabushani
• “Maame,” by Jessica George 
• “Starter Villain,” by John Scalzi
• “The Talk,” by Darrin Bell
• “Whalefall,” by Daniel Kraus

4. Margaret A. Edwards Award (An author who has made a significant contribution to YA or Children's Lit)

• Name of winning author: Neal Shusterman

5. Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature (LGBTQ+) :

•    Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

6. William C. Morris Award (First YA novel by author)

•  Award winner: Rez Ball by Byron Graves

7. YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults 

• Award winner: Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater

8. Coretta Scott King Book Award (African American Author) 

• Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

9. Coretta Scott King Author-Steptoe New Talent

•     There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia

10. Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

•     An American Story by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Dare Coulter

11. Pura Belpre (Latinx Author)

•  Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín

12. Sibert Informational  Book Award (Distinguished Informational books) 

• The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day and illustrated by Brett Helquist

13. Mildred Batchelder Award (Translated into English)

•  Award Winner:  Houses with a Story:  A Dragon’s Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places to Explore. Originally published in Japanese as “Houses with a Story,” by Seiji Yoshida, illustrated by Seiji Yoshida, translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash.

14. Children's Literature Legacy Award (An author or illustrator whose work has had a substantial and lasting effect on children's literature) 

• Winning author: Pam Munoz Ryan

15. Newbery Medal (Most outstanding contribution to children's literature)

•       Medal winner: The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers

16. Caldecott Medal (Most outstanding illustrated children's book)

• Award Winner: Big by Vashti Harrison

17. The Sydney Taylor Award (Jewish experience)

• Award for Teen Book winner: The Blood Years by Elana K. Arnold

18.  American Indian Youth Literature award

• Award Winner for YA book: Rez Ball by Byron Graves

19.  Asian/Pacific American Literature Award

• YA Award winner: I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C. F. Roger

Highlighted books are those I've read. Now that I'm retired as a teen librarian I confess I am reading less and less YA titles. But now that I am a grandmother I am reading many more children's books. As a Cybils Judge for Nonfiction several of the titles I have read this year, I've read in the role.

-Anne

Sunday Salon --- An abbreviated version

Snow day for our grandsons and son-in-law

Weather: Foggy mornings with clear blue skies in the afternoon. Cold but not freezing temperatures. We did have nearly a week of very cold weather where the temperature would not break freezing, but we didn't have any snow or frightening ice storms like some of my relatives. 

Evidence of ice storm. Photos taken by my daughter who was visiting Oregon with her family.

Related to Reading/Blogging:

1. Cybils Round 2 Nonfiction Judge

The seventeen finalists for the nonfiction category were announced on January 1st: seven elementary titles, and five each for middle grades and high school titles. I've read all the elementary and middle grade novels. I'm currently reading the second of five high school books. So far no clear winners have emerged in any grade level. Look for my reviews of these books after the winners have been announced on Feb. 14th. I'm piling up reviews as I finish the books.

2. One Big Book of 2024 Challenge

For the past four years I have challenged myself to read one big book each year, a book I have put off reading because of its size or dense topic. I give myself all year to read it.

This year's one big book is WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel. I won't even think about starting this big book about Thomas Cromwell and the Tudor period in Great Britain until I am done with Cybils judging. At 650+ pages it is 100 pages less than the book I'm currently reading, so I don't know what I am worried about.

3. Book Club musings

My SOTH Ladies book club was postponed due to potentially bad weather. We are reading The Bride Test by Huong. It has quite a bit of sex in it which will be a real shocker for our older, church lady vibe. The RHS gals will be discussing The Covenant of Water by Verghese. We gave ourselves an extra month to read it since it is so long, over 730 pages. But I didn't start on it until last week and now I have been spenind every possible moment listing to the audiobook version. At 32+ hours it feels like I've moved to India and am part of the family's life.

4. January book reviews (so far, many others not published yet)

a. Babel by Kuang

b. The Twenty One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the U.S. Government Over Climate Change by Rusch

c. The Bride Test by Huong

5. Other blog posts

a. Favorite books of 2023

b. Six Degrees of Separation from Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow to...

c. A Look Back at 2023 through Sunday Salon Posts

d. Favorite Book Club Selections of 2023

e. My Bookish Goals for 2024

f. Ranking Pulitzer Prize winners into tiers

g. Classics Club Spin #36 (winning number announced Sunday)

6. Literary puzzle project

I completed this puzzle (below) this week. It is of 42 authors of classic literary works. As I worked the puzzle I realized I hadn't read anything by a handful of them. By the time the puzzle was complete I'd talked myself into at least exploring these "unread" authors' works to see if I should add them to my TBR. Several already are on my TBR list: Elizabeth Gaskell, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, and Bram Stoker. I added titles to my TBR fro David Foster Wallace (those his most famous book is over 1000 pages, gulp!), Jack Kerouac, and Dorothy Parker, poet. I resisted the temptation to add James Joyce, Goethe, and Jean Cocteau to the list. Now we'll see if I actually read these new additions.

Good News -- Quick links

• U.K. Farmer controls flooding by returning creek to nature
• Meet India's Tree Man: a life time of planting trees has saved a river island
• Mouse tidies up a garden work bench (video)
• Life-saving vaccine could mean the end of breast cancer
• 177 Ways the World Got Better in 2023
• What Went Right in 2023...25 ways

Have a good week!

-Anne

Classics Club Spin #36

The Classics club does it again! It is spin time! List 20 classic titles you still want to read. On January 21st someone at CC spins the dial and the number where the dial stops is the spin number. Check your list. The book title next to that number is the winner. Read that book by March 3rd. Join the fun. Here is a link to the Classics Club Spin page, if you want more details.

My list of of twenty classics I'm ready and eager (?) to read:

1. David Copperfield by Dickens
2. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy
3. The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov
4. Hamlet by Shakespeare
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle
6. Something by EM Forster
7. Grimm's Fairy Tales
8. The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne
9. Something by Elizabeth Gaskell
10. Mrs. Dalloway by Woolf
11. Sound of the Mountain by Kawabata
12. On the Road by Kerouac
13. Something by Dorothy Parker
14. Tale of the Genji by Shikibu
15. Dracula by Stoker
16. The Optimist's Daughter by Welty
17. Excellent Women by Pym
18. Something by Anne Bronte
19. Something by Faulkner
20. The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway

Check back on the 21st to learn the spin number and what book I will be reading in February.

-Anne

Ranking Pulitzer Prize winners into tiers.

The other day, when I had other things I should have been doing, I started messing around instead with a tiered ranking site called Mural after watching Greg on Supposedly Fun on his YouTube channel. Greg introduced the idea of creating a tiered ranking for the Pulitzer Prize winners he's read, 41 books. I thought that I'd like to create a tiered ranking for all the Pulitzer's I've read, 44 books (notice whose read more-- brag, brag.) I then spent several hours messing around with the form to come up with the chart you see above. 

Greg's chart has six categories: Best, Great, Good, Meh, Oof, and Awful. As I started creating mine I decided "awful" was too harsh for my chart since I recognized that even though I don't particularly like a book, say Tinkers by Harding, I recognize it's literary merit. Greg's "Oof" category matches my "Has not stood the test of time." I used to love Gone With the Wind, for example, but now see it as a very racist book which has probably caused damage not only to a whole race of people but also to our country in general. Roots was read by everyone in the 1970s but now information has come to light that the author plagiarized another's work, at least thirty-five times! The others in this category just don't stand up to time and to history. 

I read the six books in my middle categories quite a while ago. Impressions were left behind in my memory so I'd consider rereading all of them but it is unlikely I will. There are so many other books I want to read for the first time.

Honestly, I usually think all of the Pulitzer winners are great. Notice how top heavy my chart is. I realize now that I don't have a category for an average evaluation. Ha!

I really struggled with which books deserve the moniker: "Best". My favorite Pulitzer Prize winner, To Kill a Mockingbird, was a no-brainer. It was the best, in my mind, but should it hold this spot alone? I decided to include Beloved by Toni Morrison, for its literary brilliance, and The Grapes of Wrath for its accurate accounting of a very dismal time in American history.

In the other two categories of Great and Very Good I tried to rank my choices (left to right), so I acknowledge that I like Lonesome Dove a bit better than The Orphan Master's Son. But honestly, I like them both very much!

Your turn. 

• Have you read any of the Pulitzer Prize winners? 
• Do you agree with my tiered ranking? 
• Disagree? 
• Have you read others winners not on this list that you would recommend? Let's discuss.

Note: If you click on the image it will make it larger so you can see the tiny book covers better. 😄

 

-Anne

Review: THE BRIDE TEST

Title: The Bride Test by Helen Huong

Book Beginning quote:

Prologue. Ten years ago. San Jose, California. Khai was supposed to be crying. He knew he was supposed to be crying. Everyone else was. But his eyes were dry.

Friday56 quote: 

Like always, he padded into his living room and took his spot at the proper machine. As he did overhead presses at 125 pounds, he was aware of Esme walking into the kitchen, helping herself to the fruit smorgasbord his mom had provided, and getting herself a glass of water, which she forgot on the counter, but he stayed focused and efficiently worked through five sets of five repetitions.

Summary: 

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride. (Publisher)

 

Review: The Bride Test is the first book club selection for 2024 for the SOTH Ladies, a church book club. We are all women, mostly older, with an average age over 70. I am the the club organizer and every month I select a kit from the public library which is made up of a set of 15 books and a discussion guide. The books are free to us, since I have a library card, and usually we find plenty to discuss. This time our discussion will be very different because this book is clearly outside our wheelhouse, not our normal reading choice. Let me be clear: the book contains many, many scenes with sex. Lots of sex. 

One lady, who will be coming to the club for the first time, said she wasn't sure she got the right book since this one was clearly pornographic. I'm not sure I'd go that far in my description of it, but it certainly has much more sex than any other book we've ever read as a club before. Ha! My husband listened to a portion of it with me and he said the library should label their book kits with notices. Kits like this with "For younger audiences" and the ones we usually get "For old, church lady audiences." You get my point.

We had to postpone our meeting by a week due to bad weather. We meet this coming Tuesday. Can't wait to see how this discussion turns out. 

********************************************************

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

As many of you know Freda over at Freda's Voice hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host The Friday56 until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. Thanks.

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader

(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

TTT: Bookish Goals for 2024 (and how I did on my 2023 goals)

Top Ten Tuesday: My Bookish Goals for 2024 (and how I did on my 2023 goals)

Bookish goals for 2024

• Write reviews for all book club selections.
• Complete my "One Big Book" challenge. This year's book is Wolf Hall by Hilary Mandel
• Read two of the five National Book Award winners/finalists. (Announced in November)
• Read the Pulitzer Prize 2024 winner for literature (announced in March or April) plus read three past winners. 
• Read at least five classic books on my list. (See list here.)
• Participate in the Discussion Challenge. Write 5 discussion posts.
• Participate in the Big Book Summer Challenge. Read 4 big books during the summer months.
• Read the Printz Award winner, and all finalists. (Announced in late January.)
• Write three Past Due Reviews after creating a new list of books I never reviewed but still want to write their reviews.
• Read 100 books for the Goodreads Challenge.

My 2023 goals. How did I do?

1. One Big Book  1/1

Personal Challenge

Read one book during the year that I consider a challenging book; a book I've avoided reading for years due to its daunting nature. Must be completed by 12/31/23.

                My 2023 One Big Book was: The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas March 28th✔.

2. Pulitzer Challenge  6/7

Personal. Read the current Pulitzer Prize winner announced in May of each year. And read past winners from a list I created.:

                1. 2023 co-winner:  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver ✔

                1. 2023 co-winner: Trust by Hernan Diaz ✔

                2. 2013 winner: Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson ✔

                3. 2007 winner: The Road by Cormac McCarthy ✔

                4. 2004 winner: The Known World by Edward Jones No. It is now on my 2024 list.

                5. 2001 winner: The Amazing Kavalier and Clay by Michael Charbon ✔

                6. 1928 winner: The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

3. National Book Award Challenge  5/2

Personal. Every year the National Book Award is given out in five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction. Poetry, Translated Literature; Young People's Literature. My yearly goal is to read two of the five winners (or finalists). This award was announced November 15th. In 2023 I read:

                Poetry winner: From Unincorporated Territory [amot] by Perez

                Poetry finalist: From From: Poetry by Youn

                Young People's Literature winner: A First Time for Everything by Santat

                Young People's Literature finalist: Huda F. Cares by Fahmy

                Fiction finalist: This Other Eden by Harding

4. Discussion Challenge 4/1-10

Hosts: Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Begins at Midnight. Post a discussion topic related to books, reading, or related topics. I aimed to complete the beginning level,1-10 posts in 2023. 

                Tracking topics/dates:

                Reading Selections (April 11th)

                Where to Post Reviews (July 13th)

                What Do You Do When You Learn Negative Information about an Author? (Aug. 8th)

                Rereadings (Nov. 14, 2023)

5. Goodreads Challenge 183/110

Read 110+ in 2023. ✔ I read 183 books.

6. Classics Club List   12/5

Host: The Classics Club  In 2023 I want to read at least five books from my list.

                Tracker:

                1. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

                2. Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

                3. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

                4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas

                5. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

                6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

                7. The Return of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

                8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

                9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

                10. Middlemarch by George Eliot

                11.The  Aleph and Other Stories by Jorge Luis Borges

                12. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

7. Super Past Due Reviews 1/5

A personal challenge. Write five super past due reviews (over a year old)

                Grunt by Mary Roach

8. Big Book Summer Challenge 6/4

Read four 400+ page length books during summer.

                1. Horse by Geraldine Brooks, 401 pages

                2. Humans by Brandon Stanton, 437 pages

                3. Tell Me Why by Tim Riley, 423 pages

                4. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, 401 pages

                5. Trust by Hernan Diaz, 416 pages

                6. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, 438 pages

9. Write reviews for all books read for book clubs. 22/23 reviews written. (The one I didn't write was for a reread which I reviewed in 2018.)

10. Read all the 2023 Printz award and honor books. 3 1/2 / 5. 

• All My Rage by Sahaar Tabir (winner)
• Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson – read half, did not finish.
• Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei 
• When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
• Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer 

-Anne